After five hours of travel, I reached the orphanage. The Land of Sorrow is so vast—luckily, this place was relatively close.
I oversaw as the professionals set up the blood collection system. It wasn't anything elaborate; the main concern was maintaining a sterile environment. After all, for others this was just blood for experimentation—if it was handled poorly, the results could be wrong. My goal was simply to make it look as authentic as possible.
Meanwhile, I spoke with the other children while keeping a close eye on Roy. The kids were cheerful. To them—children who had seen demons up close, cutting, eating, and destroying—donating blood was nothing. The caretaker smiled too, though his expression revealed a bitter truth: the fact that these children thought nothing of such conditions was already a stain on this world. How could God justify this? But fate isn't so easily changed. At best, a handful might resist and become winners—but in a sense, these children were already lost.
Soon the setup was complete, and we began extracting blood.
The procedure was simple. First, we asked each child if they wanted to donate. Of course, we made it look as though we were fine with whatever choice they made. And honestly, I truly didn't care what they chose—I only wanted Roy. That sounded strange… well, more accurately, I only wanted Roy's blood.
After each child agreed, we sterilized the skin where the needle would be inserted. An artifact was used to ensure the blood didn't react upon leaving the body, since the pretense was that we were studying its magical properties. Then we securely stored the blood and disinfected the area again.
The process continued until, at last, only Roy remained.
My heartbeat quickened. Fear crept in—what if he refused? He was still three years younger than the age when he sacrificed himself. I had no idea what he had endured by then.
Each second felt like an eternity as I asked,
"Roy, are you okay too? No one's forcing you, alright?"
Roy nodded. He looked at the needle intently, took a deep breath, and finally smiled.
"Big Brother, I'm okay. I've felt bigger pains."
Then he lifted his shirt, revealing many claw marks.
My eyes trembled—and more than that, my heart did.
For the first time since that night I woke up in this world, I felt wetness on my face. My vision blurred, and tears flowed like a flooded river. My heart twisted. I felt disgusted with myself. For the first time, I doubted my resolve.
But those claw marks revealed another truth: they could just as easily be on me next. Instead of claws, it could be swords. And they could be fatal.
Since I had already decided, there was no point stopping now. I forced a smile and said,
"Yeah, you're strong."
Soon, we began extracting Roy's blood. My heart was still throbbing, my stomach churning, but my mind burned with calculations. The sight of those claw marks had shaken me for a moment, but ultimately, they only strengthened my resolve.
When the extraction was complete, I patted Roy's head and smiled. Then, after paying the caretaker seventy-five gold coins, I left quickly.
I couldn't endure it any longer.
I sent the blood-collection team back, mounted Flash, and with the Claw members, rode toward the lake—the only lifeline of the Land of Sorrow.
It was the sole source of clean drinking water, vital to both humans and other species. Without it, the situation would have been far worse.
We soon arrived. I dismounted and examined the lake. I took out six treasures: one for myself and one for each Claw member.
Then I instructed them,
"I'm going inside. You follow me. If you notice anything unusual—no matter how small—don't hesitate to point it out. This treasure will let you stay underwater for four hours."
Everyone nodded and attached the treasures to their noses. Then we all dove in.
I began searching methodically, layer by layer, from top to bottom.
But as always, fate is a cruel joke.
We searched for four hours before ending the day's effort, as we had started late. The next day, we began at sunrise: four hours of searching, an hour of rest while the treasures recharged, and then another four hours. This pattern continued for fifteen days—with no success.
The lake was simply too vast. We still hadn't covered even half of it, and now we needed magical devices to light the depths. Even after a full sweep, there was no guarantee we would find the treasury's entrance—it could be hidden or sealed.
Since time was running short, I also ordered small attacks in different areas, hoping to uncover indirect routes.
By now, the Claw members must have been dying to know what they were even searching for. Professionalism kept them silent, but through my Sixth Sense, I could feel their intentions—they were curious.
On the twenty sixth day, I finally noticed something odd. A part of the lake felt… unnatural, though I couldn't identify why. I checked the Claw members, but they had no reaction. Doubt gnawed at me. They were A-rank—shouldn't their senses be sharper than mine?
Even so, I investigated. I had been searching the entire lake; there was no reason to ignore this part.
I soon realized the area was covered in moss. My Sixth Sense can detect the intentions of anything alive—even trees and plants. But the intentions here weren't clear. What I felt was strange: the moss stretched beyond what was visible, as though hiding a space.
I signaled Raven to attack, then quickly stopped him, trying to tell him to do it slowly. I knew military hand signals from Adrian, but Raven was an adventurer. Fortunately, he seemed to understand and attacked with restraint.
As soon as his attack landed, a cavity opened—and then a vortex formed, sucking us all in. Since I wasn't resisting, Raven held back as well, and we let ourselves be pulled along.
When the flow calmed, I surfaced inside a hidden cavity. Climbing onto land, I saw stairs descending deeper. With the Claw members following, I went down.
The stairs ended at a ruined door.
"Everyone, use your strongest attack on the same spot," I ordered.
They did, but their combined strikes left only scratches. At this rate, it would take years to break through. An SS-rank might manage in minutes, though.
Then I noticed something: at chest height, a bowl-shaped indentation marked with a spiral design.
Turning to the others, I said,
"Go back and check the lake entrance. See if there are any signs outside."
Through their intentions, I felt they knew I was hiding something, but they followed orders. They pretended they knew nothing and I it better this way.
Once they left, I took out a small pouch I had prepared from Roy's blood—about fifty milliliters. I poured it into the bowl.
The ruins slowly began to glow, light spreading outward from the center. The door split open.
Inside, I found a pedestal covered in distortions. I checked carefully to ensure I had no trace of Roy's blood on me. I didn't want it to be absorbed, granting Roy the Nature Force instead. Though I was not sure if that possible I can't take risk.
Then I pricked my finger and let my own blood fall into the distortion. Immediately, the distortion sank into the wound, warping my body. For a few seconds, my vision twisted—then I felt it. Teleportation was taking root within me.
I searched quickly but found nothing else of value inside treasury. With anticipation, I tested my new power, teleporting first to the top of the stairs, then to the cavity's opening in the lake. It worked instantly.
I swam out, resurfacing near the Claw members. Obviously, they hadn't been looking seriously—they were just loitering around. When they spotted me, I signaled them to follow, and together we headed back to the surface of the lake.
While swimming, I wondered what to do next. I didn't have any clear idea—maybe resting for two or three days would be good. But did I really have such luxury? Thinking this, I exited the lake. The others followed behind me like chicks following their mother. Then I rode on Flash again, heading toward the city where I had previously bought information.
While riding, I glanced once more at the Land of Sorrow and realized that time was something I didn't have. The only thing I did have was money—and more than half of that was already spent. I had bought many treasures just to avoid wasting even a single second. Soon, I reached the city and arrived at the most luxurious inn where I was staying. At the very least, I should rest well.
Then I asked Raven,
"Anything you think I should know?"
He replied,
"As of now, I haven't sensed anyone following or spying."
I nodded. I already knew this, but I still had to confirm it once.
We all then went to rest. Of course, they had their own ways of resting while still protecting me, but I left that to them.
The next day, I decided to visit the Information Guild again to gather more details. I entered the same way as before and followed the same employee, though this time I was led into a different room. However, the inside was identical to the one I had visited last time.